2 rounded tablespoons plain flour
Meat juices
Stock
Water to top up (use what you can from the veggies, but watch the salt level, esp with potato water)
Salt to taste
Mixed herbs and a splash of wine if you fancy it
So, stock vs water. If roasting a bird and you have the giblets, boil them up for an hour to an hour 30 in salted water and use this as the stock. Turkey will throw a lot of fluid which can also be used, but mind that you don’t add too much oil/fat.
You’ll need a frying pan, or if the meat hasn’t left baked on residue in the roasting tin you can use that, if you have room on the hob. Can be made with a holey spoon, but a whisk is sometimes safer for avoiding lumps. Watch metal utensils if you’re using a non-stick pan as there will be a lot of contact.
Add some meat juices (probably enough to cover the base of your frying pan if using) and the flour, and mix to a smooth consistency. If there’s any oil left floating, pour it off now. If you don’t have enough liquid to make a stirrable mix, add a lightly flavoured oil. Beef dripping also works. Lard, while great for roast spuds, can be a bit “porky” for a gravy. You will need some fats to cook off the flour, going straight for pure stock doesn’t work.
Heat gently to cook the flour through, stirring constantly. If you have mostly fats at this point it shouldn’t start to thicken, other liquids will. If it starts going lumpy, lift it off the heat and start adding dashes of the stock/water, sirring vigourously to break up any lumps. Don’t return it to the heat until smooth. This is where a whisk can be handy.
Add some stock. If you haven’t made any with giblets or retrieved it from the bird, make up a pint of hot veggie water with an Oxo cube. Stir to a lump free liquid and return to the heat and continue to stir. If lumps appear at any time, lift it off the heat again and stir until smooth.
Add the stock slowly – too much liquid at a time and you’ll be flicking it all over the kitchen as you stir!
Keep adding the stock until you have to switch over to veggie water (tap will do). Add herbs and wine if using, salt to taste and allow to bubble gently for 5 mins. Add more stock/water if it gets too thick.
To avoid lumps, don’t have the heat too high and remove heat altogether to beat out any which do appear.
This should make about 2 pints of gravy. Good luck!